Profile management

ABSTRACT

One or more embodiments of techniques or systems for profile management are provided herein. In one or more embodiments, a first entity may create a profile by providing content via an interface or a first interface. A second entity may manage one or more aspects of the profile via a second interface. The amount of control the second entity has over one or more portions of the profile may be related to or based on content of the profile or a relationship between the first entity and the second entity. For example, the second entity may screen content of the profile from public view. Additionally, profiles may be searched internally within an organization or externally, such as for outsourcing or to provide vendors or clients with more customized solutions. In this manner, profile management is provided.

BACKGROUND

Generally, there is a lack of automated solutions for supportingmentoring or bringing one or more individuals together. For example, ina business environment, it may be desirable to establish a mentorshipbetween a mentor and a mentee. A mentorship may be a personaldevelopment relationship where a mentor guides a mentee to grow as anindividual, an employee, or as a person. A mentor may be moreexperienced or more knowledgeable than a mentee, who may be lessexperienced or less knowledgeable about one or more topics, careerrelated subject matter, life, intricacies of an organization, otherdetails, etc. Often, mentors may be matched with their respectivementees by a mentoring committee, members of human resources, etc.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

This brief description is provided to introduce a selection of conceptsin a simplified form that are described below in the detaileddescription. This brief description is not intended to be an extensiveoverview of the claimed subject matter, identify key factors oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

One or more embodiments of techniques or systems for profile managementare provided herein. In one or more embodiments, a first entity maycreate a profile (e.g. pertaining primarily to the first entity) byproviding content, data, or information associated with his or herprofile. A second entity may manage (e.g., edit, create, add, remove,modify, control access, etc.) one or more aspects of the profile via asecond interface. The amount of control the second entity has over oneor more portions of the profile may be related to or based on content ofthe profile or a relationship between the first entity and the secondentity. For example, if the second entity is an employer of the firstentity, the second entity may screen content of the profile from publicview based on whether or not content has been released to the public orto one or more other entities. For example, internally within anorganization, it may be desirable for an individual (e.g., first entity)to notify internal team members of projects or details which aregenerally considered confidential. Externally, it may not be desirablefor the organization to discuss details of these projects to otherentities. However, it may be beneficial to discuss high level aspects ofsuch projects. To this end, a profile may be searched internally withinan organization (e.g., and provide full or greater access) or externally(e.g., which when searched, provides less access than the internalsearch), such as for outsourcing or to provide vendors, suppliers,funding sources, human capital, or clients with more customizedsolutions. In this manner, profile management is provided.

The following description and annexed drawings set forth certainillustrative aspects and implementations. These are indicative of but afew of the various ways in which one or more aspects may be employed.Other aspects, advantages, or novel features of the disclosure willbecome apparent from the following detailed description when consideredin conjunction with the annexed drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of the disclosure are understood from the following detaileddescription when read with the accompanying drawings. Elements,structures, etc. of the drawings may not necessarily be drawn to scale.Accordingly, the dimensions of the same may be arbitrarily increased orreduced for clarity of discussion, for example.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an example component diagram of a systemfor profile management, according to one or more embodiments.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an example flow diagram of a method forprofile management, according to one or more embodiments.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of an example flow diagram of a method forprofile management, according to one or more embodiments.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of an example profile associated with profilemanagement, according to one or more embodiments.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of an example computer-readable medium orcomputer-readable device including processor-executable instructionsconfigured to embody one or more of the provisions set forth herein,according to one or more embodiments.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of an example computing environment where oneor more of the provisions set forth herein are implemented, according toone or more embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments or examples, illustrated in the drawings are disclosed belowusing specific language. It will nevertheless be understood that theembodiments or examples are not intended to be limiting. Any alterationsand modifications in the disclosed embodiments, and any furtherapplications of the principles disclosed in this document arecontemplated as would normally occur to one of ordinary skill in thepertinent art.

For one or more of the figures herein, one or more boundaries, such asboundary 614 of FIG. 6, for example, may be drawn with differentheights, widths, perimeters, aspect ratios, shapes, etc. relative to oneanother merely for illustrative purposes, and are not necessarily drawnto scale. For example, because dashed or dotted lines may be used torepresent different boundaries, if the dashed and dotted lines weredrawn on top of one another they would not be distinguishable in thefigures, and thus may be drawn with different dimensions or slightlyapart from one another, in one or more of the figures, so that they aredistinguishable from one another. As another example, where a boundaryis associated with an irregular shape, the boundary, such as a box drawnwith a dashed line, dotted lined, etc., does not necessarily encompassan entire component in one or more instances. Conversely, a drawn boxdoes not necessarily encompass merely an associated component, in one ormore instances, but may encompass a portion of one or more othercomponents as well.

The following terms are used throughout the disclosure, the definitionsof which are provided herein to assist in understanding one or moreaspects of the disclosure.

As used herein, an entity may include a user, an individual, a party, aprofile owner, a profile moderator, a profile contributor, a business, acorporation, an enterprise, a government, an organization, an employer,an administrator, an administration, etc.

As used herein, a profile may include information, content, data, etc.associated with one or more entities, such as a first entity.Additionally, a profile may be comprised of one or more portions. Theinformation, content, or data contained within or included in theprofile may be associated with one or more other entities, such as asecond entity. In other words, one or more portions of the profile mayhave content regarding or pertaining to another entity. As an example,an individual may create a profile or personal profile. This profile maybe indicative of information related to or associated with theindividual, but not necessarily limited to the individual. In somescenarios, portions of information within the profile of the individualmay include information related to an organization which employs thatindividual (e.g., an employer or a contracting organization).

Because this information may be related to or associated with an entityother than the individual, control over management of the profile of theindividual may be given to one or more entities, such as a secondentity. Examples of information which may relate to or be associatedwith another entity, an additional entity, such as a second entity, mayinclude projects the individual is currently working on, projects whichthe individual has worked on in the past, future projects, classifiedinformation, internal documents, unreleased documents, prototypes, tradesecret information, other information which an employer or an entity maynot wish to become public, etc.

As mentioned, it will be appreciated that the second entity oradditional entity may not desire that one or more portions ofinformation associated with a profile of the first entity or individualto be made public. For example, in a scenario where the first entity isan employee of a company and the second entity is the company, thecompany may not want day to day details of a project released on aprofile for the employee until that project has been launched. Perhapsthe company would prefer that merely the codename (e.g., ProjectLonghorn, Project Revolution, etc.) for the project be made public. Inother words, the company may not be opposed to releasing information,partial information, limited information, or portions of informationregarding information associated with the company or projects on whichthe employee is working. Accordingly, profile management may facilitatecontrol of release of these portions of information, which may be postedpublicly on the profile of the employee, for example.

As used herein, the term managing may include adding, providing,modifying, updating, deleting, removing, posting, sharing, controlling,etc. access to one or more portions of a profile or one or more portionsof content, data, or information associated with a profile. In otherwords, managing may mean or include different types of control over aprofile.

As used herein, the term “infer” or “inference” generally refer to theprocess of reasoning about or inferring states of a system, a component,an environment, a user from one or more observations captured via eventsor data, etc. Inference may be employed to identify a context or anaction or may be employed to generate a probability distribution overstates, for example. An inference may be probabilistic. For example,computation of a probability distribution over states of interest basedon a consideration of data or events. Inference may also refer totechniques employed for composing higher-level events from a set ofevents or data. Such inference may result in the construction of newevents or new actions from a set of observed events or stored eventdata, whether or not the events are correlated in close temporalproximity, and whether the events and data come from one or severalevent and data sources.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an example component diagram of a system100 for profile management, according to one or more embodiments. Thesystem 100 may include an interface component 110, one or moremanagement components 120, an aggregation component 130, a storagecomponent 140, a content control component 150, a preview component 160,a matching component 170, and a communication component 180.

Additionally, the management component 120 may include one or moresub-components or otherwise enable multiple parties or entities tomanage a profile of an entity. For example, a first management component120A may allow a first entity to manage one or more portions of aprofile. A second management component 1208 may allow a second entity tomanage one or more portions (e.g., which may or may not overlap or be incommon with portions associated with the first management component120A) of the same profile. Regardless, one or more management components120A, 1208, 120C . . . 120N (e.g., where N may be most any integer ornumber) may allow most any number of users or entities to manage,access, or control portions of a profile or the same profile or one ormore profiles.

The interface component 110 may provide an interface, such as agraphical user interface (GUI), which enables one or more entities tointerface with a system 100 for profile management. Different interfacesmay be provided for different entities based on permissions or degreesof control associated with respective entities. For example, an entitywho is the owner of a profile may be provided with a first interface,while an entity who is a profile moderator may be provided with a secondinterface which enables the moderator to supplement or manage one ormore portions of the profile. The first interface may have differentfunctionalities or capabilities from the second interface, which enabledifferent levels of control, modification, editing, moderating, etc. Tothis end, the interface component 110 may provide a variety ofinterfaces, including a front end interface (e.g., a profile creationinterface), a back end interface (e.g., a content control interface, apreview interface, etc.), a search interface (e.g., which utilizes thematching component 170), a matching interface, etc.

As an example, a front end interface may be provided by the interfacecomponent 110 to facilitate profile creation. The front end interfacemay enable a user or an entity to add, modify, update, delete, remove,or otherwise manage content or information associated with a profile,such as a profile for a first entity or a profile of a user. In one ormore embodiments, the interface component 110 may be initialized oremployed by one or more management components 120, 120A, 120B . . .120N, etc. When a first entity creates a profile (e.g., utilizingmanagement component 120), the first management component 120A mayemploy the interface component 110 to provide the first entity with afront end interface which guides the first entity through a profilesetup process. For example, the interface component 110 may provide afront end interface which includes one or more fields for information tobe filled out by the first entity. Examples of information or fields mayinclude name, address, contact information, telephone number, emailaddress, website, location, employer, division of organization, jobtitle, pay scale, etc. Additionally, the interface component 110 mayallow the first entity to upload supplemental content, such as graphics,images, multimedia connect, etc. to their profile.

Additionally, the interface component 110 may provide other interfaces,such as a back end interface, which may be implemented to enable anadditional entity, such as a second entity, to manage one or moreaspects or one or more portions of a profile. For example, after a firstentity creates a profile having one or more portions, a second entitymay utilize the back end interface to control or otherwise manage one ormore portions of the profile. A profile, as previously discussed, mayinclude one or more portions, content, data, information, and the like.Again, the managing may include controlling access to the profile,adding content, editing content, removing content, maintaining theprofile, managing visibility settings associated with the profile, etc.In this way, the back end interface provided by the interface component110 may be utilized to screen one or more portions of a profile from thepublic, one or more entities, etc. Explained another way, the back endinterface may act as a privacy settings manager in one or moreembodiments.

The management component(s) 120 may enable users or entities to manageprofiles in a variety of different ways. For example, a first managementcomponent 120A may facilitate profile creation by ordering the interfacecomponent 110 to render a front end interface for profile creation. Thefirst management component 120A may enable a user or entity to engage inprofile creation by allowing a user, entity, individual, profile owner,etc. to add, modify, update, delete, remove, control access to, share,or manage content, data, information, etc. associated with one or moreportions of a profile. The profile may be associated with an entity,such as a first entity or a profile owner. In one or more embodiments,the first management component 120A may be accessible by merely theprofile owner or a super user (e.g., a user with root access), forexample. It will be appreciated that the profile owner may not begranted root access or super user access in all scenarios becausecontent of a profile may relate to or pertain to entities other than theprofile owner. To this end, the content control component 150 maygenerate one or more determinations as to which entities have access towhich portions of a profile, as will be discussed in greater detailherein.

In one or more embodiments, the first management component 120A maytrack one or more sets of rights associated with an entity with respectto one or more portions of a profile (e.g., where the profile isassociated with a profile owner or a first entity). Rights associatedwith portions of a profile may be determined by the content controlcomponent 150 and based on profile headers or content within portions ofthe profile. Generally, the profile owner or first entity has multiplerights associated with the profile of the profile owner (e.g., firstentity). For example, the profile owner may generally add, remove,update, modify, control access, etc. or otherwise manage the profile asseen fit or as desired. In other words, the profile owner or the firstentity may have a large amount of control over content, data, orinformation associated with his or her profile relative to otherentities, for example.

The profile owner or first entity may have the right to add, modify,update, delete, remove, share, control access, or manage most portionsof his or her profile. The first management component 120A may enablethe first entity or profile owner to create or shape a profile in mostany way the first entity sees fit. However, according to one or moreaspects, other parties or other entities, such as additional entities ora second entity, may have input or control which may supersede oroverlap with one or more management rights, permissions, or rights ofthe profile owner. For example, a second entity may have input orcontrol over one or more portions of a profile when the respectiveportions of the profile relate to or are associated with the secondentity. In other words, when a profile of a first entity has contentassociated with a second entity, the second entity may have power orcontrol over portions of the profile of the first entity which relate toor are associated with the second entity (e.g., employee profilerelating to unreleased project described by a codename).

Here, the content control component 150 may analyze one or more portionsof the profile to determine which portions of a profile are subject toaccess by an entity. In other words, the content control component 150may determine that a first portion of a profile or associated content‘belongs’ to a first entity and assigns read, modify, write access tothe first entity for the first portion of the profile. The contentcontrol component 150 may determine that a second portion of a profilerelates to a first entity and a second entity and assign the firstentity write access and the second entity modify access, for example.

It will be appreciated that a first entity may have a higher level ofaccess than a second entity for a portion of a profile, the secondentity may have a higher level of access than a first entity for aportion of a profile, or the first entity and the second entity may haveequal levels of access or overlapping access (e.g., which is notnecessarily equal). In a scenario where the first entity and the secondentity have equal levels of access or overlapping access, a first entitymay add content to a portion of a profile and the second entity mayremove that content. When the second entity removes the content, thecommunication component 180 may provide notification to the first entityregarding the modification to the profile, which will be described ingreater detail herein. In other embodiments, the first entity may havethe right to approve changes or modifications suggested by a secondentity.

The management component 120 may include a second management component120B which may enable additional users or entities to manage one or moreportions of a profile created by or associated with a first entity. Inone or more embodiments, the profile of the first entity may be createdby the first entity utilizing a front end interface provided by theinterface component 110. In other embodiments, the profile of the firstentity may be created by an entity other than the first entity, such asa second entity. Regardless, the second entity may be an organization oran employer of an individual (e.g., the first entity). As discussedherein, an employee (e.g., the first entity) may create or postinformation, data, or content on his or her profile.

The system 100 may be implemented in a business setting or a businessenvironment where the second entity, organization, or employer may notwish for one or more portions of a profile, associated content,information, data, etc. to be made public. Examples of scenarios where asecond entity may not wish information to be public may includesensitive information, trade secrets, internal documents, employeeevaluations, or other confidential information. Here, the contentcontrol component 150 may determine one or more portions of the profileof the first entity which are associated with the second entity andgrant the second entity access to manage those respective portions ofthe profile. Here, the second management component 120B may allow thesecond entity (e.g., an employer) to delete, modify, control, restrict,or otherwise manage access to content, data, or information within theprofile of the first entity or employee. The second management component120B may enable the employer to manage portions of the profileassociated with the employer, such as projects, duties, day to dayactivities of the employee, etc.

In this way, the management component 120 or the second managementcomponent 120B may enable one or more entities to manage or control oneor more portions of content, data, information, etc. of a profile of afirst entity or a profile associated with a first entity (e.g., even ina scenario when the profile is created by the first entity).Accordingly, the second entity may manage (e.g., via the secondmanagement component 120B) content of the profile of the first entity.In one or more embodiments, the interface component 110 may provide acorresponding back end interface or content control interface.

The second management component 120B may employ the interface component110 to provide the second entity with an interface to manage the profile(e.g., the profile of the first entity or the profile created by thefirst entity). For example, the interface component 110 may provide aback end interface which provides content controls for screening,restricting, or controlling access to content (e.g., a drop down menuwith one or more options for one or more portions of a profile, such aspublic, private, semi-private, etc.). This drop down menu may beprovided for one or more portions of the profile to maintain privacysettings for corresponding portions of the profile.

Additionally, the second management component 120B may enable the secondentity to add or provide additional content, information, or data forone or more portions of the profile for the first entity. In this way, aprofile for a user or a first entity may be setup or configured suchthat two or more entities may contribute or manage content associatedwith the same profile (although the profile may be technically ‘owned’by the first entity). It will be appreciated that the second managementcomponent 120B, the third management component, additional managementcomponents, etc. may have similar capabilities or a subset ofcapabilities of one or more other management components, such as thefirst management component 120A. In other words, the second managementcomponent 120B may perform identical functions as the first managementcomponent 120A in some scenarios or have different functionality inother scenarios.

It will be appreciated, however, that in one or more scenarios, theadditional content contributed by the second entity may be added to theprofile pending approval from the first entity. In other words, thesecond management component 120B may have the communication component180 notify the first entity that one or more additional entities, suchas the second entity, have managed or altered one or more aspects of theprofile for the first entity. In one or more embodiments proposedcontent may be added or suggested by the second entity via the secondmanagement component 120B, and the first management component 120A maythus employ the interface component 110 to provide an interface toapprove one or more of the changes. In some scenarios the first entitymay merely be notified of changes or modifications made by a secondentity, while in other scenarios, the first entity may have the right toapprove such changes via an interface provided by the interfacecomponent 110. Accordingly, the interface component 110 may provide aback end interface for the first entity to approve changes to theprofile for the first entity. Here, the back end interface may have oneor more check boxes next to one or more of the changes, additions,deletions, etc. proposed by the second entity to allow the first entityto accept, decline, or modify one or more of the changes.

The first entity may utilize the back end interface to modify asuggested change or proposed content provided by the second entity. If achange to a portion of a profile is modified (e.g., via a first entity),the second management component 120B may relay the suggestedmodification to the second entity. This process may be iterative or backand forth and may occur until one or more of the entities accepts,declines, or rejects one or more of the changes.

As discussed, a management component 120, such as the second managementcomponent 120B may manage one or more rights associated with an entitywith respect to one or more portions of a profile (e.g., a profileassociated with a first entity or a profile owner). The second entitymay have some control over content, data, or information within theprofile of the first entity. In one or more embodiments, a managementcomponent 120, such as the second management component 120B maymaintain, discover, or manage one or more rights of an entity (e.g., asecond entity or additional entity) with respect to one or more portionsof content, data, or information within a profile of a first entitybased on a relationship between the first entity and the additionalentity or second entity, a role of the additional entity, a status ofthe additional entity, content, information, or data, associated withthe additional entity, or a nature of a portion of a profile, etc.

For example, a section of a profile or a portion of a profile may beentitled, “Current projects” or “Stuff I'm working on”. In this example,a second entity, such as an employer, may have full, unfettered accessto this portion of the profile due to the nature of the content withinthis portion of the profile. In other words, because this portion orsection of the profile is work related (e.g., as determined by thecontent control component 150), the employer or second entity may retainor be granted one or more rights to manage this portion of the profileby the second management component 120B or the content control component150. The content control component 150 may detect when one or moreportions of a profile are relevant to a second entity based on one ormore aspects, such as keywords, project names, image recognition, tags,etc. In one or more embodiments, the content control component 150 maygrant the second entity one or more rights based on the role of thesecond entity as the employer of the individual or first entity or basedon an employer-employee relationship between the first entity and thesecond entity.

In one or more embodiments, additional management components may beprovided, as seen in FIG. 1. For example, the system 100 may include athird management component, a fourth management component, an Nthmanagement component 120N, etc. These additional management componentsmay be utilized by additional entities to manage one or more aspects ofa profile. In other words, the additional management components mayenable one or more additional entities, such as a third entity, a fourthentity, etc. to manage content in a manner similar to the firstmanagement component 120A, the second management component 120B, asubset or combination of management components 120A or 1208, etc. Inthis way, one or more of the additional management component, such as athird management component or a fourth management component, etc. mayallow one or more additional entities, such as a third entity, a fourthentity, etc. to respectively add, remove, modify, update, control, orotherwise manage one or more portions of a profile, such as a profile ofa first entity. Accordingly, the profile of the first entity may be‘owned’ by the first entity, but updated or managed by several entitiesbased on the content within the profile.

One or more of the management components 120A, 1208, additionalmanagement components, etc. may have limited or differentfunctionalities or capabilities than the first management component 120Aor the second management component 120B. For example, a managementcomponent may assign rights to an entity and provide correspondingcapabilities based on a role of an entity, a degree of separationbetween a first entity and a second entity, etc. In this way, one ormore of the management components may have different capabilities thanone or more of the other management components. In other words, notnecessarily all of the management components will have the samecapabilities with regard to managing a profile, such as a profile of afirst entity.

Further, the interface component 110 may provide different entities withdifferent interfaces based on or according to rights associated withcorresponding management components or corresponding entities. Forexample, the interface component 110 may provide an additional entity,such as a second entity (e.g., utilizing a second management component120B), with a back end interface which enables the second entity topreview a profile of the first entity. The back end interface may alsoprovide content control via the content control component 150. Thisallows the second entity to manage one or more portions of a profilepertinent to the second entity, for example.

Various embodiments with different entities managing various portions ofa profile are contemplated herein. For example, a profile may be createdby a first entity (e.g., utilizing the first management component 120A)and include a first portion and a second portion. In one or moreembodiments, the second management component 120B may enable a secondentity to add additional content to the first portion, but not thesecond portion. In other embodiments, the first entity may be grantedcontrol over the first portion and the second entity control over thesecond portion (e.g., after creation of the profile). In yet otherembodiments, the first entity may update content of the first portion ofthe profile (e.g., via the first management component 120A) and thesecond entity may control access to content within the first portion ofthe profile (e.g., via the second management component 120B, interfacecomponent 110, and content control component 150).

For example, the interface component 110 may provide the second entitywith a content control interface having one or more privacy controlsettings, tags, groups, access level, etc. The content control component150 may adjust visibility of associated or corresponding contentaccordingly. The content control component 150 may grant the secondentity access to control content based on subject matter describedwithin the content. For example, if the first entity modifies or editsthe content within the first portion of his or her profile such that thecontent is no longer related to the second entity or falls below athreshold disclosure level, the content control component 150 may removeaccess to control rights from the second entity for the first portion ofthe profile.

Conversely, the content control component 150 may grant the secondentity access to control rights when content pertaining to or owned bythe second entity is added, edited, or modified to be included within aportion of a profile. For example, if a first entity describes an idea(e.g., owned or to be assigned to an enterprise, corporation, business,second entity, etc.) which is undergoing the process of being submittedas a patent, the second entity may be granted access to control thatportion of the content. Further, the content control component 150 mayautomatically hide such content from public view. In other words, adefault setting for work related content may be hidden, for example. Inthis way, a third entity, such as an entity from the general public maynot have access to the portion of the profile associated with a patentapplication. For example, the third party may merely be presented with atitle of the patent application and a patent pending notification untildetails pertaining to the patent application are made public.

The aggregation component 130 may aggregate or collect content, data,information or supplemental content, data, or information from one ormore sources. For example, the aggregation component 130 may aggregatedata from profiles of other entities, social networks, internal sources,email, storage, locally from a computer, web history, etc. Theaggregation component 130 may add one or more portions of thisinformation to a profile of a user or have the communication component180 send one or more entities a request to add the content to a profile.In one or more embodiments, multiple entities may be required to provideconsent in order for content to be posted or added to a profile. Forexample, if the aggregation component 130 collects content related to aproject an individual (e.g., employee is currently working on), arequest may be sent to the individual (e.g., a first entity) as well asthe employer (e.g., a second entity) or administration. In this way, theaggregation component 130 may aggregate information, additional content,or supplemental content, such as project an individual or entity hasworked on in the past or is currently working on, for the profile of anentity (e.g., first entity or employee).

The storage component 140 may store content, data, information,additional or supplemental content, data, or information of one or moreprofiles (or portions thereof) for one or more entities. Additionally,the storage component 140 may house one or more rights, privileges,access, or control properties for one or more of the entities forrespective portions of one or more of the profiles.

The content control component 150 may enable one or more entities tomanage visibility or rights associated with one or more portions of aprofile. For example, when a management component provides an entity oneor more content control rights for a profile, the content controlcomponent 150 may be employed to control access to one or more portionsof a profile or one or more portions of content, data, information, etc.within a profile. The management component may employ the contentcontrol component 150 and the interface component 110 to render a backend interface which enables an entity, such as a second entity, tocontrol or manage content of a profile (e.g., of a first entity). Forexample, a user may utilize the back end interface to select one or morecontent control options. As a result, the content control component 150may apply visibility settings to one or more portions of a profile inaccordance with a selected option. Explained another way, contentcontrol may be provided to enable an additional entity to controlcontent, such as content related to or owned by an organization withwhich an entity is employed. As another example, when an employeeretires from a company or organization, the content control component150 may enable an entity (e.g., administrator) to set the profile of theretired employee to dormant or other appropriate status. Examples ofother statuses may include public, private, internal, dormant,suspended, etc.

The content control component 150 may generate one or moredeterminations regarding one or more portions of a profile, where adetermination may be indicative of one or more entities which may beimpacted or associated with content within a respective portion of aprofile. In other words, if a first entity posts content related to asecond entity, the content control component 150 may recognize that thepost or content within the post relates to the second entity as well asthe first entity. To this end, the communication component 180 may sendthe second entity a notification regarding the post or correspondingcontent. Further, in one or more embodiments, a management component,such as the second management component 120B, may have the interfacecomponent 110 render an interface for managing at least some of thecontent within the profile.

The preview component 160 may have the interface component 110 generateor render a preview interface for one or more entities. For example, thepreview component may enable one or more entities, one or more parties,or one or more additional entities to preview a profile according to oneor more different access settings (e.g., public, private, internal,etc.). In one or more embodiments, the preview component 160 may enablean entity or user to view a profile as the general public would view it,for example. To this end, the preview component 160 may be utilized in ascenario where a first entity is associated with a first organizationand a second entity is associated with a second organization, therebyenabling the system 100 to be utilized in a cross-enterprise setting. Inother words, the system 100 may cause interface component 110 togenerate a first interface for entities associated with a firstorganization and a second interface for entities associated with asecond organization.

As an example, entities or user associated with the first organizationmay utilize the preview component to generate a preview of how a profilewould appear for entities or users of the second organization. In otherwords, the system 100 and preview component 160 may allow individuals tobuild a profile which may be viewed from a perspective of the firstorganization, the second organization, both the first organization andthe second organization, from a public perspective, or from aperspective associated with neither the first organization nor thesecond organization.

The matching component 170 may match or pair an entity with one or moreopportunities based on the profile associated with the entity and adescription or attributes associated with one or more of theopportunities. The matching component 170 may utilize one or more searchcapabilities, such as by searching based on a location, physicallocation, willingness to travel, strengths, weaknesses, desires, goals,achievements, awards, experience, etc. associated with an entity,individual, opportunity, etc. In this way, pairing or matchingfunctionality may be provided such that useful, meaningful, actionabledata may be provided. In one or more embodiments, an opportunity mayinclude a mentorship opportunity and the matching component 170 maymatch profiles of mentors with profiles of mentees.

The matching component 170 may facilitate partnerships within anorganization by matching or pairing an entity with another entity (e.g.,a second entity, a mentor, or a mentee). The matching component 170 mayengineer or build a mentoring program by generating multiplementor-mentee pairings in an automated fashion, rather than by utilizingtypical processes (e.g., utilizing human resources manpower, etc.),thereby providing a social networking aspect for the system 100 ofprofile management.

The matching component 170 may pair an entity (e.g., a first entity)with a mentor when the entity has a profile which indicates that theentity has less experience than a mentor. For example, if the mentor hasa profile, the matching component 170 may compare corresponding portionsof potential mentor-mentee profiles, such as with regard to a subject,expertise, or area of interest. To this end, an entity who has expressedan interest in a subject may be paired (e.g., via the matching component170) with another entity who has indicated an expertise in that subject.Similarly, the matching component 170 may pair an entity with a menteewhen the entity has a profile which indicates the entity is experienceswith regard to a subject (e.g., and is willing to be a mentor). Thematching component 170 may pair such an individual or entity with amentee associated with a profile which indicates that the mentee has aninterest in the subject, has little experience with the subject, is in ajob role where experience in the subject may be useful, has a desire tolearn about the subject, etc.

In one or more embodiments, the matching component 170 may facilitatediversity mentorship. For example, the matching component 170 mayutilize a search engine with one or more search capabilities. Thematching component 170 may analyze attributes or content within one ormore portions of a profile and attributes of one or more opportunities,such as location, preferences, interests, goals, job title, skillsassociated therewith, reviews from past mentorships, etc. For example,if multiple individuals or entities share a common mentor, one or moreof the individuals may provide feedback or anonymous feedback for thementor, which may be stored in the storage component 140 and utilized bythe matching component 170 for future matching, pairing, or reference.In other words, if a mentee has a bad experience with a mentor, feedbackmay be provided, stored, and utilized for future mentor-mentee matchingor pairing. Explained another way, the matching component 170 may learnbased on feedback and may utilize one or more matching algorithms togenerate search results, pairings, or matching, for example.

The matching component 170 may track progress during a mentorship, gainsassociated with a mentorship or mentor-mentee relationship, analyzeskill gaps, needs, etc. based on a profile of an entity or feedbackprovided to the system 100. Feedback may be provided to a feedbackinterface rendered by interface component 110 and stored within thestorage component 140. In this way, skill gaps associated with an entityor an individual may be mitigated. It will be appreciated that thematching component 170 does not necessarily match individuals to otherindividuals. For example, the matching component 170 may match anindividual or an entity with an opportunity to decrease a skill gap,such as a class, for example. In this way, contents of a resume of anindividual may be provided as an input to the system 100 and thematching component 170 may return one or more learning opportunities forthe individual. In these embodiments, the interface component 110 mayrender a search interface or a matching interface which enables a userto select one or more goals, such as learning, skill gap enhancement,job placement, mentorship, etc. to match the individual or entity withan appropriate opportunity.

In other embodiments, the search interface may be utilized to search forjob talent, where the storage component 140 houses a database ofprofiles of job candidates, for example. Further, the search interfacemay be implemented cross-enterprise such that details relating toconfidential aspects are not disclosed or public to a searching entity,for example. Yet another application of the system 100 may includematching capital or angel investors with business ventures, supplierswith vendors, funding sources, human capital, international programs,exchange programs, projects with resources, etc. Further, the matchingcomponent 170 may facilitate matching to different needs, such asdiversity and inclusion. In one or more embodiments, the matchingcomponent 170 may provide summaries across departments, vendors,targets, analytics, one or more profiles, etc.

The matching component 170 may provide suggestions, such as a “you makelike” suggestion for an individual or entity utilizing a matching orsearch interface rendered by the interface component 110. Negativematching may be provided in a similar fashion. For example, the matchingcomponent 170 may indicate “you may wish to avoid” suggestions based onattributes in a profile of an entity and aspects or attributesassociated with one or more opportunities. An individual (e.g., firstentity) may be allergic to smoke, dogs, or have other interests whichmay be indicated by content in one or more portions of his or herprofile. Even if another individual (e.g., second entity) has commoninterests or complementary features (e.g., knowledge of a subject whichinterests the first entity) based on a profile of the second entity, thematching component 170 may consider the allergies of the first entity orindividual while generating a mentor-mentee pairing, for example. Here,the matching component 170 may indicate that the individual withallergies may wish to avoid being paired with the second individual, forexample. Of course, suggestions may be based on reputation, personalitytypes, other features, etc. For example, the matching component 170 mayindicate to an entity that they may not wish to conduct or do businesswith one or more additional entities based on matching or differencesbetween the profile of the entity and the profile of one or more of theadditional entities.

The matching component 170 may be utilized to facilitate employmentopportunities or career navigation. For example, identify potentialcareer paths where entity or team member may be successful based onprofile or interests. The matching component 170 may determine one ormore potential career paths based on a time investment for an entity ora time investment for an organization, one or more associated risks,etc.

The matching component 170 may plan career navigation or career pathsbased on one or more relationships between one or more entities. Forexample, if two entities work well together or have left mutual positivefeedback, the matching component 170 may provide similar careerplacement for one or more of the individuals. As another example, if afirst individual or first entity gets along well (e.g., providespositive feedback for) with a second individual, and the secondindividual gets along with the third individual, the third individualmay be introduced to the first individual.

In this way, the matching component 170 may facilitate career navigation(e.g., where my career go), career placement, career goals, positioningidentification, cross enterprise, cross business engagements, lines ofbusiness, job families, job requirements, talent management, talentsearch, performance improvement, skill gap identification (e.g., what ismissing based on comparison against individuals with comparableexperience, etc.), competencies, inclusive environment, enhanced teammember engagements.

The communication component 180 may enable or disable automatic dataprocessing or communication between the system 100 for profilemanagement and one or more other systems (not shown). Here, the profilemanagement system 100 may be a central system which acts as a clearinghouse or supports one or more platforms associated with careernavigation, mentoring, sponsorship, skill gap, talent searching, etc.for a line of business or for a goal. The profile management system 100may operate independently of other systems and facilitates translationor communication of data or information between one or more of the othersystems. The communication component 180 may identify one or morecharacteristics of a system in communication with the profile managementsystem. For example, the communication component 180 may identify a typeof system, a language associated with a system.

This enables consolidation, processing of data or content associatedwith profile across different platforms, enterprises, technologies,devices, web browsers, operating systems, languages (e.g., power shell,visual basis, C++, C sharp, Java, Ajax), etc. In other words, a profilemanagement system 100 may support portability in a technology agnosticmanner. The communication component 180 may interpret a languageutilized by a system in communication with the profile management system100 and generate a mapping to one or more other systems in communicationwith the profile management system 100 to facilitate communicationbetween the system 100 and the other system. To this end, thecommunication component 180 may enable a profile to be portable suchthat the profile may be brought from one platform to another.

In one or more embodiments, the communication component 180 may enable aprofile to be leveraged online or offline (e.g., synchronize offlinechanges to the profile when connected online). The communicationcomponent 180 may also be utilized by one or more parties or additionalentities to access a profile or matching functionality. For example, ifa first entity has a profile, a second entity may add additional contentto first portion of profile, a third entity may request action or helpfrom first entity. Here, the communication component 180 may controlaccess from third entity according to a subscription. In this way, asubscription may capitalize on existing customers, vendors,distributors, etc.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an example flow diagram of a method 200 forprofile management, according to one or more embodiments. At 202, themethod 200 includes enabling a first entity to manage a profile based ona first set of rights (e.g., management rights). At 204, a second entitymay be enabled or permitted to manage one or more portions of a profilebased on a second set of rights (e.g., different than the first set ofrights). At 206, the method 200 may include determining the first set ofrights or the second set of rights based on a relationship between thefirst entity and the second entity or content from one or more portionsof the profile.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of an example flow diagram of a method 300 forprofile management, according to one or more embodiments. At 302, one ormore entities may be allowed or enabled to manage one or more profiles.At 304, an additional entity may be provided with tools to search one ormore of the profiles based on a set of rights. At 306, one or more ofthe entities may be matched with the additional entity based on searchcriteria.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of an example profile 400 associated withprofile management, according to one or more embodiments. The profile400 may include profile media 410, such as one or more profile pictures.Additionally, a profile may include one or more portions 422, 424, 426,etc. Respective portions 422, 424, and 426 may be managed by one or moreentities. For example, a first entity may manage portions 422, 424, and426. A second entity may manage portion 426 based on content containedwithin portion 426. In one or more embodiments, if the content within426 changes or is modified (e.g., such that the content is outside ascope of access rights for the second entity), the second entity mayhave access rights to manage portion 426 revoked. However, if thecontent 426 is modified to fall within the scope of access rights, thesecond entity may be granted the right to manage portion 426.

One or more embodiments may employ various artificial intelligence (AI)based schemes for carrying out various aspects thereof. One or moreaspects may be facilitated via an automatic classifier system orprocess. A classifier is a function that maps an input attribute vector,x=(x1, x2, x3, x4, xn), to a confidence that the input belongs to aclass. In other words, f(x)=confidence (class). Such classification mayemploy a probabilistic or statistical-based analysis (e.g., factoringinto the analysis utilities and costs) to prognose or infer an actionthat a user desires to be automatically performed.

A support vector machine (SVM) is an example of a classifier that may beemployed. The SVM operates by finding a hypersurface in the space ofpossible inputs, which the hypersurface attempts to split the triggeringcriteria from the non-triggering events. Intuitively, this makes theclassification correct for testing data that may be similar, but notnecessarily identical to training data. Other directed and undirectedmodel classification approaches (e.g., naïve Bayes, Bayesian networks,decision trees, neural networks, fuzzy logic models, and probabilisticclassification models) providing different patterns of independence maybe employed. Classification as used herein, may be inclusive ofstatistical regression utilized to develop models of priority.

One or more embodiments may employ classifiers that are explicitlytrained (e.g., via a generic training data) as well as classifiers whichare implicitly trained (e.g., via observing user behavior, receivingextrinsic information). For example, SVMs may be configured via alearning or training phase within a classifier constructor and featureselection module. Thus, a classifier may be used to automatically learnand perform a number of functions, including but not limited todetermining according to a predetermined criteria.

Still another embodiment involves a computer-readable medium includingprocessor-executable instructions configured to implement one or moreembodiments of the techniques presented herein. An embodiment of acomputer-readable medium or a computer-readable device devised in theseways is illustrated in FIG. 5, wherein an implementation 500 includes acomputer-readable medium 508, such as a CD-R, DVD-R, flash drive, aplatter of a hard disk drive, etc., on which is encodedcomputer-readable data 506. This computer-readable data 506, such asbinary data including a plurality of zero's and one's as shown in 506,in turn includes a set of computer instructions 504 configured tooperate according to one or more of the principles set forth herein. Inone such embodiment 500, the processor-executable computer instructions504 may be configured to perform a method 502, such as the method 200 ofFIG. 2 or the method 300 of FIG. 3. In another embodiment, theprocessor-executable instructions 504 may be configured to implement asystem, such as the system 100 of FIG. 1. Many such computer-readablemedia may be devised by those of ordinary skill in the art that areconfigured to operate in accordance with the techniques presentedherein.

As used in this application, the terms “component”, “module,” “system”,“interface”, and the like are generally intended to refer to acomputer-related entity, either hardware, a combination of hardware andsoftware, software, or software in execution. For example, a componentmay be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, aprocessor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program,or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on acontroller and the controller may be a component. One or more componentsresiding within a process or thread of execution and a component may belocalized on one computer or distributed between two or more computers.

Further, the claimed subject matter is implemented as a method,apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programming orengineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware, or anycombination thereof to control a computer to implement the disclosedsubject matter. The term “article of manufacture” as used herein isintended to encompass a computer program accessible from anycomputer-readable device, carrier, or media. Of course, manymodifications may be made to this configuration without departing fromthe scope or spirit of the claimed subject matter.

FIG. 6 and the following discussion provide a description of a suitablecomputing environment to implement embodiments of one or more of theprovisions set forth herein. The operating environment of FIG. 6 ismerely one example of a suitable operating environment and is notintended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use orfunctionality of the operating environment. Example computing devicesinclude, but are not limited to, personal computers, server computers,hand-held or laptop devices, mobile devices, such as mobile phones,Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), media players, and the like,multiprocessor systems, consumer electronics, mini computers, mainframecomputers, distributed computing environments that include any of theabove systems or devices, etc.

Generally, embodiments are described in the general context of “computerreadable instructions” being executed by one or more computing devices.Computer readable instructions may be distributed via computer readablemedia as will be discussed below. Computer readable instructions may beimplemented as program modules, such as functions, objects, ApplicationProgramming Interfaces (APIs), data structures, and the like, thatperform one or more tasks or implement one or more abstract data types.Typically, the functionality of the computer readable instructions arecombined or distributed as desired in various environments.

FIG. 6 illustrates a system 600 including a computing device 612configured to implement one or more embodiments provided herein. In oneconfiguration, computing device 612 includes at least one processingunit 616 and memory 618. Depending on the exact configuration and typeof computing device, memory 618 may be volatile, such as RAM,non-volatile, such as ROM, flash memory, etc., or a combination of thetwo. This configuration is illustrated in FIG. 6 by dashed line 614.

In other embodiments, device 612 includes additional features orfunctionality. For example, device 612 may include additional storagesuch as removable storage or non-removable storage, including, but notlimited to, magnetic storage, optical storage, etc. Such additionalstorage is illustrated in FIG. 6 by storage 620. In one or moreembodiments, computer readable instructions to implement one or moreembodiments provided herein are in storage 620. Storage 620 may storeother computer readable instructions to implement an operating system,an application program, etc. Computer readable instructions may beloaded in memory 618 for execution by processing unit 616, for example.

The term “computer readable media” as used herein includes computerstorage media. Computer storage media includes volatile and nonvolatile,removable and non-removable media implemented in any method ortechnology for storage of information such as computer readableinstructions or other data. Memory 618 and storage 620 are examples ofcomputer storage media. Computer storage media includes, but is notlimited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology,CD-ROM, Digital Versatile Disks (DVDs) or other optical storage,magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or othermagnetic storage devices, or any other medium which may be used to storethe desired information and which may be accessed by device 612. Anysuch computer storage media is part of device 612.

The term “computer readable media” includes communication media.Communication media typically embodies computer readable instructions orother data in a “modulated data signal” such as a carrier wave or othertransport mechanism and includes any information delivery media. Theterm “modulated data signal” includes a signal that has one or more ofits characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encodeinformation in the signal.

Device 612 includes input device(s) 624 such as keyboard, mouse, pen,voice input device, touch input device, infrared cameras, video inputdevices, or any other input device. Output device(s) 622 such as one ormore displays, speakers, printers, or any other output device may beincluded with device 612. Input device(s) 624 and output device(s) 622may be connected to device 612 via a wired connection, wirelessconnection, or any combination thereof. In one or more embodiments, aninput device or an output device from another computing device may beused as input device(s) 624 or output device(s) 622 for computing device612. Device 612 may include communication connection(s) 626 tofacilitate communications with one or more other devices.

According to one or more aspects, a system for profile management isprovided, including a first management component, a second managementcomponent, and a content control component. The first managementcomponent may enable a first entity to manage one or more portions of aprofile according to a first set of rights. The second managementcomponent may enable a second entity to manage one or more portions ofthe profile according to a second set of rights different than the firstset of rights. The content control component may determine the first setof rights or the second set of rights based on content of one or moreportions of the profile.

In one or more embodiments, the system may include an interfacecomponent providing a first interface for the first entity based on thefirst set of rights and a second interface for the second entity basedon the second set of rights. The system may include an aggregationcomponent collecting content for the profile from one or more sources.The system may include a storage component storing the profile, one ormore portions of the profile, the first set of rights, or the second setof rights. The system may include a preview component previewing theprofile for the first entity, the second entity, or a third entity basedon the first set of rights, the second set or rights, or a third set orrights, respectively.

The system may include a matching component enabling the second entityto search one or more portions of the profile based on the second set ofrights. Additionally, the system may include a communication componentnotifying the first entity of one or more management actions taken bythe second entity with respect to one or more portions of the profile ora communication component notifying the second entity of one or moremanagement actions taken by the first entity with respect to one or moreportions of the profile. The first entity may be an employee and thesecond entity may be an employer. Managing may include adding,providing, modifying, updating, deleting, removing, posting, sharing, orcontrolling content, data, or information associated with the profile.

According to one or more aspects, a method for profile management isprovided, including enabling a first entity to manage one or moreportions of a profile according to a first set of rights, enabling asecond entity to manage one or more portions of the profile according toa second set of rights different than the first set of rights, anddetermining the first set of rights or the second set of rights based ona relationship between the first entity and the second entity. Themethod may include collecting content for the profile from one or moresources, previewing the profile for the first entity, the second entity,or a third entity based on the first set of rights, the second set orrights, or a third set or rights, respectively, enabling the secondentity to search one or more portions of the profile based on the secondset of rights, or matching the first entity with one or moreopportunities based on one or more portions of the profile and one ormore attributes associated with one or more of the opportunities. One ormore of the opportunities may be a mentorship relationship between thefirst entity and one or more additional entities.

According to one or more aspects, one or more of the following areprovided: enabling one or more entities to manage one or more portionsof one or more profiles, enabling an additional entity to search one ormore portions of one or more of the profiles based on a set of rights,matching one or more of the entities with the additional entity based onsearch criteria of the additional entity, previewing the profile for theadditional entity. One or more of the entities may be a vendor and theadditional entity may be a supplier. Alternatively, one or more of theentities may be a supplier and the additional entity may be a vendor(e.g., searching for a supplier).

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features or methodological acts, it is to be understood thatthe subject matter of the appended claims is not necessarily limited tothe specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specificfeatures and acts described above are disclosed as example embodiments.

Various operations of embodiments are provided herein. The order inwhich one or more or all of the operations are described should not beconstrued as to imply that these operations are necessarily orderdependent. Alternative ordering will be appreciated based on thisdescription. Further, not all operations may necessarily be present ineach embodiment provided herein.

As used in this application, “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or”rather than an exclusive “or”. Further, an inclusive “or” may includeany combination thereof (e.g., A, B, or any combination thereof). Inaddition, “a” and “an” as used in this application are generallyconstrued to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear fromcontext to be directed to a singular form. Additionally, at least one ofA and B and/or the like generally means A or B or both A and B. Further,to the extent that “includes”, “having”, “has”, “with”, or variantsthereof are used in either the detailed description or the claims, suchterms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term“comprising”.

Further, unless specified otherwise, “first”, “second”, or the like arenot intended to imply a temporal aspect, a spatial aspect, an ordering,etc. Rather, such terms are merely used as identifiers, names, etc. forfeatures, elements, items, etc. For example, a first channel and asecond channel generally correspond to channel A and channel B or twodifferent or two identical channels or the same channel. Additionally,“comprising”, “comprises”, “including”, “includes”, or the likegenerally means comprising or including, but not limited to.

Although the disclosure has been shown and described with respect to oneor more implementations, equivalent alterations and modifications willoccur based on a reading and understanding of this specification and theannexed drawings. The disclosure includes all such modifications andalterations and is limited only by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for profile management, comprising: afirst management component enabling a first entity to manage one or moreportions of a profile according to a first set of rights; a secondmanagement component enabling a second entity to manage one or moreportions of the profile according to a second set of rights differentthan the first set of rights; and a content control componentdetermining the first set of rights or the second set of rights based oncontent of one or more portions of the profile, wherein the firstmanagement component, the second management component, or the contentcontrol component is implemented via a processing unit.
 2. The system ofclaim 1, comprising an interface component providing: a first interfacefor the first entity based on the first set of rights; and a secondinterface for the second entity based on the second set of rights. 3.The system of claim 1, comprising an aggregation component collectingcontent for the profile from one or more sources.
 4. The system of claim1, comprising a storage component storing the profile, one or moreportions of the profile, the first set of rights, or the second set ofrights.
 5. The system of claim 1, comprising a preview componentpreviewing the profile for the first entity, the second entity, or athird entity based on the first set of rights, the second set or rights,or a third set or rights, respectively.
 6. The system of claim 1,comprising a matching component enabling the second entity to search oneor more portions of the profile based on the second set of rights. 7.The system of claim 1, comprising a communication component notifyingthe first entity of one or more management actions taken by the secondentity with respect to one or more portions of the profile.
 8. Thesystem of claim 1, comprising a communication component notifying thesecond entity of one or more management actions taken by the firstentity with respect to one or more portions of the profile.
 9. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the first entity is an employee and thesecond entity is an employer.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein themanaging comprises adding, providing, modifying, updating, deleting,removing, posting, sharing, or controlling content, data, or informationassociated with the profile.
 11. A method for profile management,comprising: enabling a first entity to manage one or more portions of aprofile according to a first set of rights; enabling a second entity tomanage one or more portions of the profile according to a second set ofrights different than the first set of rights; and determining the firstset of rights or the second set of rights based on a relationshipbetween the first entity and the second entity, wherein the enabling thefirst entity, the enabling the second entity, or the determining isimplemented via a processing unit.
 12. The method of claim 11,comprising collecting content for the profile from one or more sources.13. The method of claim 11, comprising previewing the profile for thefirst entity, the second entity, or a third entity based on the firstset of rights, the second set or rights, or a third set or rights,respectively.
 14. The method of claim 11, comprising enabling the secondentity to search one or more portions of the profile based on the secondset of rights.
 15. The method of claim 11, comprising matching the firstentity with one or more opportunities based on one or more portions ofthe profile and one or more attributes associated with one or more ofthe opportunities.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein one or more ofthe opportunities is a mentorship relationship between the first entityand one or more additional entities.
 17. A computer-readable storagemedium comprising computer-executable instructions, which when executedvia a processing unit on a computer performs acts, comprising: enablingone or more entities to manage one or more portions of one or moreprofiles; enabling an additional entity to search one or more portionsof one or more of the profiles based on a set of rights; and matchingone or more of the entities with the additional entity based on searchcriteria of the additional entity.
 18. The computer-readable storagemedium of claim 17, comprising previewing the profile for the additionalentity.
 19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, whereinone or more of the entities is a vendor and the additional entity is asupplier.
 20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, whereinone or more of the entities is a supplier and the additional entity is avendor.